Handwriting

“Research supports the active teaching of handwriting. Recent findings demonstrate that writing by hand improves creative writing skills and fine motor skills. In fact, elementary students have been found to write more and faster by hand than when keyboarding.” – lwtears.com

Does Your Child Struggle?

“Illegible handwriting is a problem for a large number of children… it can affect them not only personally (self-esteem), but also academically, and their careers in the future…” – Dr. Gerry Conti Assistant professor of occupational therapy at Wayne State University

We Can Help!

Some Helpful Terms To Know

Dysgraphia: A deficiency in the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It often overlaps with other learning disabilities such as speech impairment, attention deficit disorder or developmental coordination disorder.

Dyslexia: A learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling and is characterized by difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory, and verbal processing speed.

Auditory Processing: How the brain processes spoken language. This makes it difficult for the child to process verbal instructions or even to filter out background noise in the classroom.

Visual Processing: Affect how visual information is interpreted or processed by the brain.

Written and Verbal Communication: We enhance a child’s ability to decode and comprehend language and the critical thinking skills required to process both written and verbal information.

Social Skills: The ability to communicate with peers in an appropriate and thought out manner. Critical thinking and problem solving with attention to body language and social cues.

Fine Motor Muscle Control: The coordination of muscles, bones, and nerves to produce small, exact movements. Such as picking up a small item with the index finger and thumb, or grasping a pencil and moving it on paper to create purposeful strokes.

Pencil Grasp: An efficient pencil grasp allows children to write longer with more precise strokes aiding in legible writing.

A Learning Without Tears® Clinic

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Handwriting

Caryn Short - COTA/LLevel One Certified Handwriting Specialist
I am a Colorado native and so happy to be able to make a difference right here at home. Helping the children of this community increasing their self esteem when it comes to school work and homework is very important to me. Understanding and processing written language can be a struggle that affects a child’s entire attitude about school. I have seen children who dread school and feel defeated before the day has even begun, become excited about the school day simply because they are finding it easier to understand, process, and express information.

I use the Handwriting Without Tears® program and have added activities to enhance it. Easier writing isn’t just about pencil to paper tasks, in most cases it likely has something to do with a deficit in another area such as fine motor ability, or strength to manipulate a pencil, sensory strategies to calm and focus, ability to process directions either written or verbal, self expression difficulties, working in a social environment without becoming distracted, visual perceptual processing, core strength, etc… . We assess all of these areas and help the whole child along with the pencil to paper piece.

Handwriting Without Tears® is a wonderful program that teaches strategies through music, movement, and hands on experiences with writing. We hold on to information better when it is experienced in more than one area of our brain. Success comes when a child is looking forward to a new school day and able to get homework done without feeling stress or failure. That is what drives me to find what each child needs and help lift them to their full potential.